


Odyssey

by snack_size



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Max Knows What is Best, Platonic Romance, Post-Movie(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-22
Updated: 2013-10-25
Packaged: 2017-12-30 02:57:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1013248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snack_size/pseuds/snack_size
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After they see Herc at the dedication for the Operation Pitfall Memorial, Raleigh and Mako agree that they should probably adopt him and bring him back to the lake house that sort of fell into Raleigh's hands in Upstate New York. Everyone goes wine tasting, Raleigh cooks, Herc tries to find a hobby, Mako waits for the two of them to figure things out, and they all try and deal with the harsh empty spaces surrounding them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dytabytes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dytabytes/gifts).



Raleigh did not want to go to the dedication. But Mako asked him, and so he went, even though he had never been to see Yancy’s stone. He still didn’t intend to go and visit that particular patch of grass.

“I first came for the dedication to Tamsin,” Mako said, doing her best to keep her tone conversational. “Next to Luna.” Raleigh wondered if Pentecost had kept his spot reserved. Not that it really mattered. They were just stones that could be moved around.

After the dedication ceremony Raleigh made small talk with a variety of people - from the upper level officials and politicians that had descended on Hong Kong after Pitfall and were here for more photo opportunities to the technicians and staff he had met in Hong Kong. “Becket Boy,” Tendo said, and Raleigh turned, relieved. “Ms. Mori.”

“Allison,” Raleigh said. He smiled slightly at the curve to her stomach. Tendo gave him one of those looks and Raleigh shook his head before he could say something ridiculous and inappropriate. Not that Allison hadn’t known what she had signed up for. “Good to see you again.”

“We should under better circumstances,” she replied. “Oh, dear.” Raleigh followed her gaze over to Herc Hansen. Raleigh winced. His dress blues were almost hanging off of him and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days - worse than he had in the days before Pitfall. It had only been three months but it looked like more time had passed for him.

“Yeah, I-” Tendo sighed. “Worked himself to the bone until they sent in the new Marshal, then…” Raleigh nodded. PPDC didn’t need Jaeger pilots, so they’d been discharged with the request they provide their services again if needed. Raleigh had been happy to accept the deal - much as going back to the Shatterdome had been like coming home, he wasn’t ready to resume that life. Mako was having a much harder time adjusting, though.

“I’m gonna go…” Raleigh said. Tendo nodded and took Allison’s hand.

He walked over to Herc. He looked completely lost holding onto Max’s leash as a parade of people came up to him, shook his hand, and walked off - as if they stayed longer he might ask them for help, or something. “You want to take a walk, sir?” Raleigh asked. Herc blinked at Raleigh, then nodded his head. He appeared relieved. Raleigh walked them away from the memorial ground, away from the ocean, and into the surrounding rolling green fields - the type you only seemed to find in England.

“Goddamnit,” Herc said. His voice was bitter and broken and Raleigh really wanted to hug him. Purely for comfort reasons - actually truthful, this time.

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. He knew, but he didn’t know - how many people had Herc lost to the kaiju? Raleigh’s were at least a bit more spread out. Mostly everyday tragedies, instead. “Sir-”

“Not in the military anymore, Becket,” Herc said. That statement was just bitter, but then, he’d been in his entire life and basically discarded. “Stacker didn’t even process you through when he brought you back, anyway.”

Mr. Hansen? Raleigh thought, and then, “Herc, I…actually, I don’t have anything to say.”

Herc turned and looked at him. A smile ghosted across his face, just for a moment. “Everyone else says they don’t know what to say.”

Raleigh nodded - he knew. Like there was something, out there, if you just thought about it hard enough that would explain it. Would make everything better. “Yeah,” he said.

Max grumbled and sat down. Apparently this was as far as he was walking. Raleigh leaned down and pet his head. Max made a strange sound, so Raleigh crouched down and looked at his face. Max was thinner, too, but this was probably because Chuck was his main source of scraps and treats.

It wasn’t like bulldogs ever looked happy, but...he looked legitimately sad, and his expression was almost pleading. No, definitely pleading. _Please friend human take care of my owner human I am not sure how._

Raleigh grasped Max’s face and looked up at Herc, who was staring off into the distance.

* * *

Mako was good at compartmentalizing. Mako was good at being the stoic survivor and soldier/soldier’s daughter.

Raleigh could see that she was ending the period that she could manage this, though. He wrapped his arm around her and tugged her away from whoever she was speaking to. He pointed her towards the ocean because she still liked it. “So, this might be a little, uh, spontaneous and possibly...but, I think we should bring Herc and Max back with us.”

Mako turned her head up towards him and blinked. “He does look...terrible,” she said.

“Tendo said he just went back to Australia, these last few weeks…”

Mako shook her head. “We have the room,” she said. So, yes.

Raleigh knew - they both knew, he saw it on Mako’s face as well - that they had made the right choice when Herc offered up very little resistance to the idea. Raleigh thought he might, so he sent Mako to suggest things.

“Don’t want to impose,” Herc said, weakly.

“We have a whole house,” Raleigh said.

“House?” Herc asked.

“Dad left it for me, apparently,” Raleigh said. “In Upstate New York.” _Fucker,_ he thought. Left after their mum died. Felt bad enough about it to write him and Yancy into the will.

“It is on a lake,” Mako said. “There are many wineries nearby.”

“Oh, well,” Herc said. “If you don’t…”

“We asked,” Mako said. Herc nodded.

* * *

“Haven’t been on a plane that small since…” Herc said when they picked him up at the airport. Max wiggled his butt at them, pleased. Raleigh had heard Mako shout for the first time ever when she booked the flight for Herc - some asshole on the other end wanted to charge them for an extra seat for Max to fly with him, since he wouldn’t fit under the seat in a carrier. _Did I not tell you this flight was for Hercules Hansen?_ Mako asked. Not that they couldn’t afford it - it was just principle. “Got a whole thing of airplane peanuts for himself,” Herc said, and pet Max’s head. Raleigh couldn’t tell if he was tired or being very sarcastic.

Raleigh got Herc’s suitcase and had a distinct sense that it might contain all of Herc’s things. All of Herc’s and Max’s things.

Mako sat in the backseat of the car with Max. Mako caught Raleigh looking at the dog and smiled. Two days prior, she had asked him what had spurned him to invite Herc to stay with them. _Max told me to,_ he replied.

“Well,” Herc said, when they pulled up to the house. “I didn’t think-”

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. He had thought it would be more of a lake cottage, too. Apparently his father’s parents had money, though. The whole thing was stupid - his father got it, then died a few days later.

“Your bathtub has massage jets,” Mako said. Herc gave her another one of those ghost smiles and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Hope you don’t mind if I sleep,” he said.

“No, you flew halfway around the world,” Raleigh said.

“Just wake me up for dinner, yeah?” Herc said. “Always get the worst jet lag when you sleep ‘til next morning.”

Raleigh cooked - he always cooked, after Mako’s first attempt had resulted in a chipped tooth and visit to the dentist for him and the second required tearing the batteries out of the smoke detector to make it stop beeping. He had got some pork chops at the farmer’s market the day before and fried up some potatoes with bacon, chives, and butter.

“I will need to add another mile,” Mako said, when she returned from her run. Raleigh shrugged. They’d saved the world. They definitely deserved bacon and butter. “I will get Herc.”

Mako set the table and Herc watched from the doorway as Raleigh steamed some fresh broccoli. Raleigh turned back and smiled at him. Herc was in jeans, which was strange. They didn’t hang off of him like the dress blues, at least. When he bent over to pick up Max and put him in his dog bed they clung nicely to his ass.

Raleigh quickly looked away - and fuck, how long had he been nursing a crush on Herc Hansen? Yancy had been insufferable that night in Manila, determined...thankfully he had decided to enlist Scott Hansen’s assistance and so Raleigh was spared the embarrassment and rejection.

“Wouldn’t take you for a cook.”

“Yeah, I, after...for Yancy and I,” Raleigh said. “He worked a lot, so.” He shrugged, and Herc nodded. “You want wine or beer?”

“Wine is local,” Mako said, as she uncorked the bottle.

“Well, not much for...but, a glass,” Herc said.

Raleigh nodded and Mako smiled. He had spent almost thirty minutes at the grocery store, trying to figure out what type of beer to get for Herc when the clerk informed him they didn’t have anything from Australia besides Fosters - and even Raleigh knew better - nor could he advise Raleigh as to what beer would taste the most Australian.

“S’all right,” Herc said, taking a long swig. Raleigh set a massive pork chop in front of him. Herc certainly needed it.

He ate, too. It was a relief. Maybe he just wasn’t taking care of himself or wanted to cook for himself. Better than not having an appetite because of depression. Raleigh had been there. Herc took another glass of wine without any protest. “Nice here,” Herc said. “You just find out about it?”

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. Didn’t mention that he got the letter a few days after Pitfall because he was the last surviving relative they could trace - the house and all of the other shit had been held in trust when no one knew where he was. “There’s a dock, if you want to swim.”

Herc furrowed his brow. “Bit cold?”

“Lake’s about sixty-eight right now,” Raleigh replied - it was late September. Herc shook his head, and Mako nodded.

“He is very wrong,” Mako said.

“You know, in Alaska…” Raleigh said. He stopped, though, because he felt cold water and snow all around him for a moment and he felt a hard tug at the place where Yancy had been ripped from him. Mako reached over and squeezed his knee. Herc looked down. “You probably, ah, just want to rest tomorrow?” he asked Herc.

“Yeah,” Herc said. “Not as young...well.” He had a little moment of his own. Raleigh wished that he was seated on the same side of the table as Herc so he could squeeze his knee.

* * *

Raleigh caught Herc the next afternoon in the living room, looking intently at the floor-to-ceiling built-in bookcases. “Grandparents were big readers?”

“Yeah,” Raleigh said.

“Mind if I..?” Herc waved his hand, and Raleigh shrugged. Mako had already started tearing through the library. She pretended she was taking some of the more literary stuff when she was really digging into the crime procedurals. And Harry Potter. “Becket?”

“Yeah, just…” Raleigh tried to imagine his grandparents here while they had lived like they had in Budapest, in France, in Alaska… “Never knew them. Big fight with my dad, I guess.”

Herc nodded, looked like he wanted to say something, then stopped. Raleigh waited as Herc picked up a book and read the back. Then he said, “Angie’s parents hated me,” he said. “Didn’t want their girl with some RAAF bogan.”

“What?”

“Country boy,” Herc said. “I forget none of you can tell the difference, between accents.”

“You sound, uh, Australian,” Raleigh offered.

“Like the Crocodile Hunter,” Herc said. “Or Mick Dundee.”

“Who?” Raleigh asked. Herc put another book down and shook his head at him.

“You got Netflix or whatever?” Raleigh nodded.

Soon he and Mako were seated in one couch while Herc and Max took another. Mako brought the beer out. She gave Max a dog bone. Herc seemed surprised. “We shopped for your arrival,” Mako said.

“Nice of you to think of him,” Herc said. He sounded sad, and it took Raleigh a moment to realize why - to remember how the Hansen’s had used Max as a go-between. Mako and Raleigh had also bought dog food for Max only to find that four pounds of Herc’s baggage allotment had been taken up with hermetically sealed dog food. Raleigh wasn’t sure what to think of that, now.

Raleigh decided not to question why, though he had to admit that the scene in the subway was incredibly well executed as far as romantic comedies went. Not that Raleigh had watched - _nope, Becket, let’s not delude ourselves,_ he decided.

“There,” Herc said, and pet Max’s head. It was as if he felt better for sharing a little bit of his home with them, but it seemed to be something else. Raleigh couldn’t quite put his finger on it. “Beer’s not bad.”

“Aah,” Raleigh said, almost involuntarily.

“Raleigh spent a long time picking out beer,” Mako said. Raleigh shot her a look.

Herc considered this and pressed his lips together. “Picking out beer?” he asked.

“Well, I didn’t know what you would like-” Raleigh stopped when Herc looked confused, then he shook his head. It was almost derisive, like, _kids these days._ Max made a whining sound and Mako laughed, apparently getting Herc’s joke. She would. She had known him longer.

And she knew about Raleigh’s crush. When they had sat, staring at Gipsy and having their disgraced-pilots lunch, she said, “I had a crush on Herc, too.” She tucked some hair behind her ears.

“Had?” Raleigh asked. Mako cocked her head and smiled at him. She did not elaborate on this.

Instead, she said, “It is sweet, that you still do.” Raleigh shook his head - not like he’d been carrying a torch for him while he was on the wall. More that seeing Herc again had reminded him of the torch he used to carry during their time at the Academy, watching Herc while he looked incredibly pained during the interviews with his brother about their latest Mark-I triumph. He had a very good jaw, Raleigh thought. He liked that he had freckles, too, which Raleigh had never before thought were particularly masculine.

He might have been a hair-trigger quicker at punching Chuck because of what a shit he was to his father. Raleigh felt a little bit bad for it, now, because he hadn’t realized at the time that Chuck knew he was just counting to the days until he marched to the end of his world, at least, or the world, at most. He’d just been spouting so much shit when he’d acted like he thought he was going to come back from that mission. But it turned out that _I quite like my life_ actually meant I just want people to be around to remember me.

“We’re gonna die down there,” he said to Raleigh and handed him a beer before he knew the extent of Herc’s injury and while they were all just waiting.

“I don’t-”

“Shut it, Becket,” Chuck said, and Raleigh nodded.

“Raleigh?” Mako asked, and Raleigh shook his head.

“Sorry, just…”

“We should get takeaway for dinner,” Mako said. She was used to his spacing out. She was the ideal housemate and platonic life partner - which was from a movie, some stupid one Yancy liked, he was almost sure of it. Not that Raleigh hadn’t debated whether he was attracted to her, after all, Wikipedia told him that few people were either a hard Kinsey 1 or 0. He laid awake and thought about it for awhile and decided that sometimes, though, you could be this intimate with a person and have this kind of relationship and not want to fuck them.

Herc shook his head, and, just as Raleigh moved to go and see what he could cook, he said, “Just. So different, you know. Not in some place still rebuilding.”

“Well,” Mako said. “We are lucky to be able to afford many things.” Still, she nodded. “Thank you.”

“Not me,” Herc said. “Shit tons of money came in, only earmarked for past pilots. Legal couldn’t figure out a way to do other stuff with it, so…” He shrugged, like he was legitimately embarrassed that people wanted to provide them with a pension. Make sure they were all taken care of in their old age. Raleigh thought, sometimes, that he should feel that way, but somehow doing another turn in a Jaeger had made him also take a one-eighty in his thinking on things.

Or, as Mako put it when he expressed this to her upon finding the first deposit into his account, “You set aside your man pain to save the world. They should compensate that.” Raleigh had hit her with a pillow. “Typical,” she replied.

“The Thai is very good,” Mako said to Herc.

“OK,” said Herc.

They watched Raleigh’s choice of movie while they ate from the four curries that they ordered. He couldn’t really think of a movie that exemplified Alaska, so he picked Fargo instead. Herc seemed really amused by it, so that was something. He fell asleep during Mako’s choice - a romantic comedy Raleigh had never seen before - and Raleigh went over and tucked him into the couch with a warm blanket. Herc had been complaining about how cold it was even though it was mostly in the fifties.

“This was the right decision,” Mako said, when they went upstairs. Raleigh cracked open one of the diet sodas he grabbed on the way up - the locals called it pop, which he found endearing, just like back in Alaska.

Raleigh sat down on her bed. “I just...the way he looked. The way the dog looked.”

“Yes, I know,” Mako said. There was so much that hung unspoken between all of them and Raleigh wanted to shout and kick that they should let it out - cry about Stacker, Chuck, Yancy, and everyone else, too, or talk about them. Acknowledge the space where they should be.

They wouldn’t, though, or not yet. Raleigh wasn’t patient. He had been angry at himself when he couldn’t even figure out how to begin working through what happened with Yancy, let alone how it was taking five years plus to deal with it. He sighed.

“He has not mentioned that I did not book a return ticket,” Mako said.

“I don’t think he noticed, honestly,” Raleigh said. “He was functioning on autopilot at the memorial.” Raleigh bit the inside of his cheek at the memory - the screen that flashed with pictures of the seven people they lost, the speeches about them and their heroism. One of Striker’s crew talked about Chuck and it had been bitter. She talked about when he had first jockeyed, something about him being barely out of a diapers. Raleigh wondered if she just hadn’t thought it through or if it had been meant for Herc.

“I would hold him hostage,” Mako said. “In the very least to make sure he is fed.” Raleigh smiled. Herc only ate if they set something in front of them, but he had a good appetite when they did.

“He’s military,” Raleigh said, and something clicked. Grief probably had something to do with it, but...Herc just might not know how to take care of himself.

Mako nodded. “Not that we are much better.”

“We can figure it out,” Raleigh said, and then backtracked, “I mean, all three of us, not that-”

Mako smiled at him. “Your crush is cute.”

“Shut it, Mori,” he said. They curled up on the bed and put a television show on until they both fell asleep.

They decided on wine tasting for the next day. Even though they had been in the house only two months they had developed a good relationship with a lot of the proprietors at the local wineries. “Raleigh, Mako, hey!” said Addie at the first. “Who is your friend?”

“This is Herc,” Mako said. “He is new to wine.”

Herc looked at them as Addie walked off to go and get them glasses. “Well, we’re pretty recognizable,” Raleigh said.

“Still. Came here more than twice,” Herc said. He smiled at Addie when she set a large, empty glass in front of him.

“Most people like sweet, to start out,” she said. Herc shrugged his shoulders and gave her an easy, laconic smile. It made Raleigh’s heart flutter - he would do a lot to get that kind of smile from Herc Hansen. Sadly, it appeared that he reserved it for women. Wasn’t the first time this had happened to Raleigh. He drank his wine and then squatted down to give Max some of the crackers that were on hand to cleanse your palate.

As with each of their forays, they returned with a case of wine from a variety of places. “Wine cellar?” Herc asked, and Raleigh couldn’t help but notice how he had a little bit of difficulty hefting up the case after nudging Raleigh away from it.

“No, just wine rack built into the wall,” Mako said. She must have seen the same thing because she met Raleigh’s eyes.

“We do have the wine chiller, though,” Raleigh said. He walked close behind Herc. He huffed a bit when he set the case down.

“Bit out of shape,” he said. His voice was sad again.

Raleigh couldn’t help himself. He was tactile. He reached and touched Herc on his shoulder. Herc leaned into it then startled when he realized what was going on. “Sorry, I-”

“No, just,” Herc said. He muttered the rest. “Not used to it.” Raleigh didn’t acknowledge the statement, just grabbed a bottle of white wine and made for the wine chiller. Herc shuffled behind him.

“Technology,” Mako said when it took just two minutes to bring their bottle of Riesling - one of Herc’s favorites - to optimal temperature.

They drank the bottle and Mako wavered a little bit - she was getting better, but still became quite sleepy from wine. “A nap, I think,” she said, and just laid down horizontal right on the couch. Raleigh tucked her in just as he had with Herc the night before and smiled when Max hopped up and crawled in with her.

“Another bottle?” Raleigh asked, and Herc nodded. Raleigh picked another one of the sweet Rieslings and they went out to the back porch. “You want a sweater?” Raleigh asked, after Herc failed to sit down after a minute or so. He nodded. Raleigh had to resist the urge to sigh when he saw Herc slide on his oatmeal sweater.

“Soft,” Herc said. Raleigh nodded, not sure what else to say - primarily because he was thinking of Herc wearing the sweater and boxer briefs, curled up in his bed with him. The room Raleigh had taken upstairs had a fireplace in it, and- “Raleigh?”

“Sorry,” he said, decided to act like it was just another slip, a ghost drift, whatever you wanted to call it. Reality melted like it did in the drift and whatever it was you remembered seemed palpable. This one did, too, it just hadn’t happened. Would never happen.

“Yeah,” Herc said, and he sat down. Raleigh poured his glass full. “This is nice - to see the other side.” He waved his hand at the lake, and Raleigh nodded. The sailing team from the local college was out, practicing. Raleigh found it strange that things like that had continued on the East Coast. Like if they pretended hard enough the kaiju weren’t happening - that the wall would work, the monsters would never reach them, and they could keep on.

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “Mako wants to swim it.”

“Mako doesn’t know how to swim,” Herc said. Raleigh cocked his head - he did not know that. “Tried to teach her, when she was was younger. Wanted nothing to do with it. Probably easier to think about in a lake.” It was the most Herc had said since they’d picked him up from the airport. Raleigh nodded.

“I can float,” he said. “Not drown.” All Jaeger pilots had to pass a test. Raleigh inhaled - like Yancy could have just tread water until they found him.

Herc met his eyes and nodded, then looked down at his near empty of wine. He poured himself some more. “Gonna need to find something to do,” he said, finally.

 _Do me!_ Raleigh couldn’t help but think. “I know the feeling.” The concept of hobbies seemed incredibly foreign, though. “Plenty of reading to catch up on. Mako runs.”

“Hate running,” Herc said.

“Elliptical and shit in the basement,” Raleigh said. Herc nodded and then shook his head, no doubt thinking about the elliptical.“I know,” Raleigh said. Both of them sighed in unison. “Out of everything, I have a luxury house fall in my lap.”

Herc snorted at this. The wine was getting to Raleigh, because he found his gaze lingering on the precise line of Herc’s jaw, how good he looked, melancholy, but how he would definitely look better if he were happy. Raleigh had an image of Herc smiling from somewhere, and- “Becket?”

“Sorry,” Raleigh said, looked down, and actually felt himself blush. Yancy was supposed to be the one to teach him how to flirt and mate, but Yancy had been such a goddamn idiot that there had been little practical knowledge he had to impart to Raleigh. People gravitated towards Yancy, he just sort of called them into his orbit. “Guess I shouldn’t make fun of Mako about the wine.” His blush deepened when he realized that what he said could imply what was actually the problem, or-

Herc didn’t catch it, though, just gave him this tight smile before he drank the rest of his wine and resumed looking out at the lake.

* * *

Herc never asked about a return ticket. They took him to a local pet store to find the best possible food for Max, and the two women who owned the pet store quickly started flirting with Herc and Max. Possibly and/or Max. “You can bring this little guy by any time,” said Judie.

“Well, all right,” Herc said. They had also bought Max a new dog bed, some dog stairs to get up onto the couch, and a large and wide variety of dog toys. Mako, in particular, had been fascinated by the many different choices and had difficulty choosing.

“This will prepare him to hunt the squirrels in our yard,” she said, squeaking a toy squirrel.

“Mako, I’m only asking because I never ask you to...but could you possibly say squirrel again?” Raleigh said. Mako shook her head and walked away.

The first week Herc mostly read books and they watched movies or television in the evenings. The second week he began to research things to do in the area besides wine tasting and took Raleigh and Mako with him to the local dog park. Max was a little perplexed at the presence of so many other dogs, in such varied shapes.

“He looks just like that one Jaeger dog,” said one woman while Max and her dachshund’s sniffed each other’s asses.

“Doesn’t he?” Raleigh asked. Apparently he wasn’t very recognizable with a grey beanie on his head and some scruff. He glanced over to see where Herc was, just so he could avoid that interaction - anytime someone figured out who he was, Herc had just grunted at them and walked away.

Herc was talking with a woman with a coffee in her hand, laughing. _Get over it, Becket,_ he told himself. Sure, not easy with a hot guy living in your house with you, but… Herc was going to move on. Mako was going to move on, though Raleigh found the idea of her dating someone kind of...frightening, and possibly hilarious. He imagined Mako approaching dating like she had piloting Gipsy - she would set her sights on an objective and she would make it hers.

“You know,” the dachshund woman said, smiling at Raleigh, “there’s a bulldog that comes to my dog daycare. Maybe he’d like to meet her?”

 _Oh, God, she’s flirting with me,_ Raleigh thought. _The dog park is basically a meat market._ “Um.” She smiled at him. “Max prefers other boy dogs?”

She blinked, once, twice, and then nodded her head. “Well, still, it’s good for them - socialization, exercise, lots of benefits,” she said.

When Raleigh related the story to Mako that evening she laughed, clear, distinct, and high - the first time he had heard her laugh since Pitfall.

Another day went and hiked to a nearby water fall and had a picnic. Since Herc seemed to enjoy these types of activities, Raleigh suggested that they go apple picking at the orchards of the local university. Herc stayed off of the ladders, allowing Mako and Raleigh to climb and get the fruit while he held onto Max and their basket.

“Come on, Herc,” said Mako. “Do you not want to pick some out?”

“Don’t like heights,” Herc said.

Raleigh almost fell off of the ladder himself. “Wait, what?” he asked, regaining his balance.

“Don’t like heights,” Herc repeated.

“Explain to me how you decided to join the RAAF,” Raleigh said.

“Don’t like climbing ladders and such,” Herc amended and crossed his arms, offended that Raleigh might be calling his decision making illogical. “Besides, what are we gonna do with all of these fucking apples?”

“That is Raleigh’s problem,” Mako said. “Was his idea.”

“Apple crisp,” Raleigh said. “We need to stop and get ice cream.”

Raleigh began to peel and cut at the apples while Mako opened some wine. “Let me help,” Herc said. Raleigh pushed the peeled apples towards him. Herc basically whacked at them with the knife, though chunks of apple were produced.

“What?” he asked, when he caught Raleigh watching him.

“It’ll do,” Raleigh said. “It’s gonna cook down, anyway.”

“You don’t appreciate my knife skills?” Herc asked. He sounded completely serious, and so Raleigh bit at his cheek and looked down, not sure what to say to that. Herc smiled at him - a big, legitimate smile, and Raleigh had to smile back.

“You have excellent knife skills,” Raleigh said, and then tilted his head when he realized Mako had slipped out of the kitchen at some point. Max huffed beneath them and Herc slipped him some apple. Max sighed.

For some reason it made Raleigh think of the dog daycare suggestion - not that they weren’t around to take care of him, but maybe he might like to hang out with other dogs? Maybe it would take his mind off of Chuck? So he told Herc the story, except Herc didn’t laugh like Mako had. Instead he furrowed his brow and looked out the kitchen window. “I, uh, thought it was a good response-” Raleigh managed.

“No, just. Thought you were with Mako,” Herc said. Raleigh turned his head. “You sleep in the same bed, sometimes.”

“Yeah, it’s…we fall asleep to the TV?” Raleigh said. Herc still looked a little confused. “Uh, Drift?”

“Hmm,” Herc said. Then he said, “Raleigh.”

“What?” Raleigh asked, because it was the sort of tone he remembered Yancy taking with him when he was disappointed with Raleigh being a dumbass, and-

“Aw, fuck it,” Herc said, and then he was suddenly very close to Raleigh and had a hand on top of Raleigh’s hand. He nuzzled his nose into Raleigh’s nose, inhaled slightly, and fuck, his freckles were cute. Then he kissed Raleigh on the lips, brushing his lips against his and then diving in hard. He thread his fingers through Raleigh’s hair, and Raleigh inhaled, sharp, not really sure that this was real- “You know, I’m old enough-” Herc began.

“Nope,” Raleigh said. Herc scrunched his nose slightly. “Besides, you started it.”


	2. Chapter 2

Raleigh kissed Herc again, long and deep. Slow. There was a large part of him that wanted to reach around, grab his ass, and guide him to the closest bedroom. As much as Mako wanted apple crisp, she would understand.

But then he remembered how much he had sought out sex after Yancy had died because he was desperate for that connection - to move, with another person, think with them, feel with them - and he knew better than to rush things.

So he kept kissing Herc and decided he could grab his ass and cup it. Then he broke away and tucked his head into Herc’s neck and breathed softly. “Raleigh, I-” Herc said.

Max barked at them, and Raleigh laughed a bit and pulled back from Herc. He tilted his head and smiled.

“We should…” Raleigh glanced over at the cut up apple pieces and the mixture for the crunchy topping that Raleigh had made. _Take it slow,_ he thought. _Do it right._ Did people ever say things like out loud?

Herc smiled and nodded his head at Raleigh. “Show me what to do,” he said. Then he glanced down at Max and shook his head at him.

They mixed the apples and topping together then took their glasses of wine into the living room where Mako had queued up an episode of Law & Order. Raleigh imagined Mako as a crime detective - maybe in another life - and smiled.

She had sprawled herself across the one couch. She gave Raleigh a slight shrug.

Herc grunted and took the other couch. “Kids,” he said. He sat down on the couch and scooped Max up with him. Raleigh sat down next to him and Max flopped across his lap. _How did Max know?_ Raleigh wondered - _how much did he know?_ Raleigh narrowed his eyes at Max, but he just had one of his predictably dumb faces on, tongue out and eyes slightly crossed. Still. Raleigh was going to keep an eye on him.

Mako shook her head at them. “I hope you do not burn this apple crisp,” she said. “It is new for me.”

“You’ve never had it?” Raleigh asked. Mako shook her head - and Raleigh immediately smelled it, even though it wasn’t cooking, and maybe it had been a bad idea because it had been his mom’s favorite. Yancy’s favorite, they used to make it together and it was the only thing they could be trusted with because it wasn’t messy and they wouldn’t eat the dough-

Herc’s hand was on his knee and Raleigh remembered how much he had wanted that, awhile ago. He met Herc’s eyes and Herc nodded at him. “Can’t imagine,” Herc said. “Got it bad enough just…”

Mako looked at both of them and there was a sad realization in her eyes - their drifts had been chaotic, sure, and sometimes Raleigh dreamt of Onibaba, but. She looked away and towards the television.

Raleigh realized he wasn’t entirely sure how to proceed. Not that he hadn’t had relationships, just...it had been a long time. Usually he had just found someone, taken the back, had them leave. Maybe made them breakfast. He took what he needed and gave them what they needed.

Raleigh moved so his thighs aligned with Herc’s, and then raised his eyebrows. Herc smiled, it said that he understood. Maybe it had been the same way for him. Raleigh imagined it wouldn’t have been the easiest to have a relationship with Chuck around. This made him sigh - he would never have wanted-

Then Herc wrapped his arm around him and Raleigh found himself issuing a pleased sigh. Mako shook her head at both of them.

arched his eyebrows, shook his head at him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Raleigh couldn’t help but glance over at Mako - she had an approving smirk on her face. He wondered how long she had known.

They stayed that way until the timer went off, then Raleigh bound up. Max groaned because he was unsettled and Herc steadied the dog so he didn’t tumble off of the couch. “Eager, oi?” Herc asked.

“Yes,” Raleigh said, and both Herc and Mako were smirking at him. “You have to eat it when it’s hot, so the ice cream melts,” he said. “You’ll see.”

He prepared their bowls carefully, sprinkling a little bit more of the - incredibly expensive - cinnamon over top and garnishing with a bit of real whipped cream. Then he watched, unsure, hoping that they would like it as much as he did. Raleigh wasn’t sure why, normally, he didn’t care what people thought of his cooking. It was a purely utilitarian gesture, compliments were appreciated but not necessary.

“Oh, that is nice,” Mako said, and Herc nodded.

“So this is what America tastes like,” he said. Raleigh smiled. It might have been the first real joke that Herc had made since they had acquired him.

“That is the expression,” Mako said. She put another bite into her mouth and swirled it around before swallowing, savoring it.

They took the apple crumble to the television and watched several episodes of Law & Order. Raleigh figured that loads of people would be disappointed if it was revealed that this was how they were occupying their time now that they had saved the world. Raleigh figured they deserved this - there had to have been ordinary people who did this, especially at the beginning of the Kaiju War. Any probably after things really went to shit, too - what else was there to do? Streaming television and internet connections weren’t limited resources.

He leaned into Herc a little more, perhaps subconsciously. He felt almost felt guilty, he could feel something pushing back against him - he didn’t deserve this. Herc rubbed at his thigh a bit and gave him a soft smile.

“I will do dishes,” Mako said.

“I know,” Herc said, when she was in the kitchen. “But.” Raleigh knew the end to that sentence - Yancy would have wanted you happy. Chuck would have wanted...well, actually, Chuck probably would probably not be too keen on Herc getting together with Raleigh. It probably would have been hilarious, and for a moment, Raleigh smiled - and Herc smiled, and then Herc sighed and scratched behind his neck.

Raleigh turned so that he could look him in the face because he felt Herc tense underneath him. He watched as he did the thing Raleigh was quite familiar with, that sort of choking and holding back, the desperate desire for tears not to leak out of your eyes. “It’s OK,” Raleigh said. “I mean, not...it’s not OK. But you can...if you want.”

“Well,” Herc said. He closed his eyes and wiped at them and then inhaled again. He shook his head and gave Raleigh a very slight smile. “Goddamnit.”

Raleigh wondered if it would be appropriate - then, well, hadn’t Herc said fuck it? And that was an hour ago? So he leaned in and just kissed him light on the lips, then pulled back. “I know,” he said.

“S’good thing,” Herc said. “Don’t like talking.” He gave Raleigh another one of those smiles, a little wider, and then looked down.

“Why do you think I was on the wall-”

“Don’t even,” Herc said. “You talk.”

“Not about feelings!” Raleigh protested. Herc leaned in and put his head in the crook of Raleigh’s neck.

“You are...manly, you’re right,” he said, voice soft, and Raleigh smiled and look - that had worked out alright, hadn’t it? He kissed at Raleigh’s neck, then, and Raleigh inhaled and sighed. Herc kissed up to right behind his ear and then Raleigh’s lips, soft, wanting, and sweet. Raleigh groaned. It had been a long time. And he hadn’t expected this from Herc.

When he moved back from the kiss, he smiled at Herc. Then sniffed at the air, slightly startled. Before he recognized the smell he identified it as danger - was that ironic? “Mako, you’re not trying to...cook, are you?”

“Apple cobbler is not dinner,” Mako replied.

“We talked about this, Mako,” Raleigh replied, and was intrigued that Herc was moving off of the couch at the same speed. Apparently Mako had attempted cooking before - no, of course she would have. She would have wanted to do something nice for Stacker, perhaps for his birthday, and instead of mess hall food- “Just…”

Mako turned, some olive oil in a pan, and furrowed her brow. “Order a pizza,” Herc said. “We all have our talents, Mori.” Raleigh felt like this might have been a moment that had happened between them before - Herc would be the person that she would call after she nearly burnt down the Shatterdome kitchen because he was literally the only other sensible person in the facility.

“I suppose,” she said. “It just seems simple when you do it.”

“Well…” Raleigh said, because he understood where she was coming from - Mako, he knew, was one of those people who was just naturally good at things. Yancy had been the same way. “You could cook with me. I could...I mean, I would like to keep all my teeth.”

Mako blushed at this and Herc raised his eyebrows. “I can, uh, chop. I have excellent knife skills,” he said. Mako nodded her head.

* * *

Raleigh inhaled when Herc closed the door to his bedroom. Mako had been a hero, curling up on the couch with Max when she saw the two of them drawing closer and then nodding at Raleigh when the dog was snoring. Not that Raleigh couldn’t have figured that out on his own, but it was considerate gesture all the same. Max generally slept with Herc, though over the last week he had occasionally climbed in with Raleigh and/or Mako.

He had nudged Herc, eager after spending the entire evening with just light touches and kisses passing between them. Herc had given him a soft smile, nodded his head at Mako, and as they slipped upstairs Raleigh wondered if the whole thing was just a little bit awkward - but then, if Mako wasn’t fussed, it didn’t really matter, did it?

Now, though, he was faced with Herc’s room and he realized that he had meant what he said before - even if they had been getting to know each other, for the past three weeks, he wanted to savour every inch of Herc and learn all of the best places to touch and stroke him. “I know,” Herc said, voice low, and he reached around to steady Raleigh as he kissed him - deeper, more intense. “Let me.”

“OK,” Raleigh said, because - was he going to argue with that voice? Attached to that man? He felt his cock begin to harden and he groaned as Herc reached and palmed him in his pants. “Herc-”

“Mmm,” Herc said. He gently guided Raleigh to the bed. They undressed slowly, and Raleigh ran his fingers over the expanse of Herc’s body. He was freckled all over and Raleigh thought about finding and marking each one - how it would take all afternoon. Herc blushed, just slightly, and Raleigh kissed his mouth hard and then rolled over on top of him. He aligned their hips. “Fuck, Raleigh-”

“I’ve wanted this for a long time,” Raleigh said.

“Makes a man feel young,” Herc replied. Raleigh paused, for a moment, and met his eyes. Then he stroked his jaw and smiled down at Herc before kissing him again. Herc groaned into it, and Raleigh rocked his hips again before pulling up so he could slide Herc’s jeans off.

They moved more quickly, from there, and both of them were soon naked and Herc grunted, blushed, and grabbed for some lube from his bedside table. “What?” Raleigh asked, and grinned. “Like you’re not going to-”

“Brat,” Herc said. He grabbed Raleigh’s cock and stroked it, then lubed his hand. “Come here.” Raleigh scooted back - playing hard to get? - and Herc sort of growled and rolled him onto his back.

Raleigh was afraid that he came embarrassingly soon, but Herc came over his stomach not soon after and then settled down right over top of him. Raleigh ran a hand down his spine - Herc had put a little weight back on, since they’d had him, but the bones were still too knobby. He squeezed Herc’s ass, which was firm, and sighed. Herc kissed his cheek. “We should shower,” he said.

“We should,” Raleigh agreed, and smiled. He almost said something about being stuck together but it didn’t seem like the appropriate time to make a semen-related joke. Maybe after the second or third time. Instead he followed Herc into the bathroom and oogled him in the shower as the water and suds dripped down his body.

“Fuck, you are gorgeous,” Herc muttered, and he sighed and ran a finger down Raleigh’s abdominals. He shook his head.

“I’m-” Raleigh never knew how to deal with that word. Better than cute, surely, he used to get cute all the time in high school and his early years in the PPDC.

“Shh,” Herc said, and Raleigh nodded his head. Herc cupped his ass before he turned the water off.

“You mind if I..?” Herc asked, and waved at the television. “You and Mako, you fall asleep to-”

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “Just easier.”

“I know,” Herc said. When there was only a little sound outside and everything was empty and dark it was far too easy to start to think about things and people - always the things and people that weren’t here, anymore, the places and spaces where they should be. Gipsy and Yancy, Striker and Chuck… it had been the easiest thing about the Wall and the Shatterdome, there was always constant noise.

Herc had moved the television and wall mount so you had to watch it rolled on your side, instead of watching while laying on your back. He winced before Raleigh rolled over. “Just can’t get comfortable, anymore, on my back-”

“No, it’s...this is fine,” Raleigh said. “So long as I can lay on my right.” Herc nodded at this and then dimmed the light, turned the sleep timer on, and slotted himself behind Raleigh. He rest his head on Raleigh’s shoulder. Fuck, Raleigh thought, because this felt good, maybe better than the sex had - well, not really, but it was certainly just as good in a very different way.

* * *

Raleigh understood. It could be obvious things - seeing a picture, or hearing a particular song, a smell. Something that was so palpable you couldn’t ignore it and the next thing you know everything inside of you crumpled. But it could also be a hair trigger, just a flash of something, and there wasn’t really any reason at all.

Herc just took a step back and Raleigh could see him reeling. They were taking a walk with Max - walks were the only exercise that Herc assented to, and fresh air was important, so. Raleigh reached over and took his hand to ground him, waited, then Herc swallowed thickly and tears puddled in his eyes. “Let’s go back,” Raleigh said, and he waited.

Max whined a little and Raleigh took his leash. He tried to look forward and not at Herc since he suspected he wasn’t the type of person who liked being watched during this sort of thing.

It took three minutes for him to start talking but it felt like an eternity. “We weren’t even married, you know,” Herc said. “It was just...she was a good girl, nice girl, and I was still trying to figure out…” Raleigh nodded, then realized the implications - that maybe it hadn’t been as much of a Sophie’s choice for Herc, that there had been more weight on Chuck’s side of the equation. _Fuck,_ he thought. Herc winced. “I was a shit father.”

“I don’t think-” Raleigh began.

“No, I was,” Herc said. “Never knew what to do with him. Didn’t have a good example - far from it.” He sighed. “And Chuck was…” Herc furrowed his brow, even he wasn’t sure and he had drifted with him over twenty times. “He was so fucking smart, off the charts smart, when we got the tests back when he was eight or nine - and neither of us…” Raleigh nodded, though he hadn’t considered this. But of course Chuck was - he worked on Striker, which meant that the people with the mechanical engineering degrees felt like he knew what he was doing. And even if you were Herc Hansen’s son they weren’t just going to let you turn up to the Jaeger Academy at thirteen.

“He knew you loved him,” Raleigh said.

It was the wrong thing to say, and he saw Herc’s shoulders crumple and suddenly he was very small. Max whined again, and Raleigh guided Herc onto the porch of their house and sat him down. Herc wasn’t with him, just then, and so Raleigh leaned down in front of him and put his hands on his knees and waited. It wasn’t until Max jumped up on him that Herc shook his head and came back. “Should have told him, though.”

“You can’t…” Raleigh bit his cheek and knew he needed to pick his words carefully, here, “He felt it. He felt everything you felt for him and that’s more powerful than…” He remembered the first time he had drifted with Yancy and felt the waves of love, protectiveness, adoration, and affection. He sighed and met Herc’s eyes.

Herc nodded and licked at his lips. He scooped Max into his lap and pet his head. “He sleeps with one of his socks,” he said. Raleigh turned his head slightly and then understood what Herc was saying. “Didn’t have the heart to…”

“No, that’s,” Raleigh paused. “I have Yancy’s sweater.”

“Yeah, I know,” Herc said. He looked off into the distance and Raleigh turned to follow his gaze.

The leaves were brilliant colors of red, yellow, orange - Raleigh had never seen fall like this before and he knew that the brisk chill in the air was supposed to make him feel melancholy, but he couldn’t help but feel alive even if he associated cold with...Yancy, the Wall…

He felt Herc’s hand on the back of his neck and Max’s tongue on his cheek. Raleigh met Max’s eyes first. _See I knew you could help,_ the dog seemed to say. Raleigh nodded at him, and then squeezed Herc’s knee. They walked inside.

Mako came up from the basement where she had been on the rowing machine. “We should just get rid of the elliptical,” she said, before she looked at either of them. She raised both eyebrows when she met their faces and then nodded her head. “I will order food,” she said.

“Yeah,” Raleigh replied.

He curled around Herc that night and wrapped himself tight. “Never been the little spoon,” Herc grumbled, but he didn’t move. Raleigh smiled and kissed the back of his neck.

* * *

Raleigh answered the knock on the door - he expected some religious group since they were still quite prominent even after the Breach had closed. Instead there was a woman standing there with a little child and a large labrador. “Oh, hello,” Raleigh said, and he smiled.

“We should have come around and introduced ourselves earlier - we see you on your walk,” she said. “I’m Bridget. This is Erica, and Little.”

“Raleigh,” he said. The woman looked him up and down and then just smiled. First test passed, Raleigh thought.

“Your dog is cute,” Erica said, and smiled at him. Raleigh reached forward and pet Little, who gave him a doggy smile. Raleigh massaged his ears.

“Thanks, he’s not mine, though.” Eric nodded, Bridget gave him a smile and Raleigh felt himself blushing.

“We’re having a party for Halloween, on Saturday,” Bridget said. “You don’t have to get dressed up or anything, but…it’s at seven, if you want to come.”

Raleigh nodded. He hadn’t even realized that it was October until he and Herc started to notice decorations and carved pumpkins. “Yeah, I’ll...see what everyone thinks,” he said.

“You can bring your dog,” Erica said, and smiled at him.

Mako embraced the idea of getting to know their neighbors. She had read about the town they were in and it was supposed to have a strong sense of community. “Max could also use friends,” she said. Something flashed across Herc’s face, and it took Raleigh a moment to realize what it was - the use of Max, how he and Chuck had used him in their own relationship. Mako realized it too and bowed her head, but Herc shook his.

“Sure,” he said. “Learn about the local customs, right?”

Mako purchased a set of pink cat ears for herself. Raleigh debated just cutting some holes in a sheet and instead bought a pair of faux hipster glasses to go with his beanie - Mako would later produce a beat up pair of Chuck Taylors from one of her forays into town. Herc just shook his head and got some fuzzy tiger print ears. “Feels like a cop out,” he said, and waved his hands at all of the other costumes available in the Target.

“I will not be a sexy anything,” Mako said, wrinkling her brow. “Or a princess.”

Max’s costume was an achievement, though. He didn’t appreciate it as much and wriggled hard against him as they tried to maneuver his stumpy legs into it. “There, Max,” Herc said, and grinned. “Now you’re a ferocious beast.” Max grunted and refused to walk down the street, so Mako carried him.

“Oh, hello!” said Bridget. She was dressed as a scarecrow. “You brought a shark.”

“Hammerhead,” Herc said. The hammerhead portion of the costume was drooping a little on Max’s head. The effect was still there.

“Bridget Cleary,” she said, and held out a hand.

“These are my...uh…” Raleigh looked at both of them, not really sure what they were to him. Housemates just seemed - they weren’t on MTV, for fuck’s sake.

“Herc Hansen,” Herc said. “Thanks for inviting us.”

“Mako Mori,” Mako said, and bowed. Bridget bowed in return. “I am pleased to meet our neighbors.”

They weren’t the only ones in half-assed costumes and, as Raleigh had figured, they got a pass for Max’s outfit. Max became more tolerant when he saw that there were plenty of other animals in costumes. He gave up on his attitude when everyone decided he needed to be petted and adored.

“Regular life of the party,” Herc said. He had mulled cider spiked liberally with whiskey by Bridget’s husband. “This is not bad.”

“I have seen that woman often on my runs,” Mako said.

“You should say hello,” Raleigh said. Mako blushed, ever so slightly. Raleigh would never have taken her for shy. Herc nodded at him and Raleigh sort of marched Mako over to make a new friend.

“I like your costume,” he said. She appeared to be a bat.

“Oh, hello,” she said. “We run at the same time, don’t we?” she asked Mako. “I’m Charlotte, call me Char.”

“Mako,” said Mako.

“I was really impressed how you managed to take the steep incline up to-” Charlotte said, and Raleigh smiled at Mako and then headed to get some more of the bottled hard cider that came from a local place. He’d seen them at the Farmer’s Market, but it had always been crowded - and he wanted to make sure he got the organic pork products before they sold out.

He startled when he felt something poke his thigh. He looked down to see a ten year old in a-

“I know who you are, even with the glasses,” the Mini Gipsy Danger said. The costume was store bought and she had a printed spandex suit with the joints painted on under the foam pieces of the Jaeger’s chest.

“I imagine you would,” Raleigh said, and he crouched down so he was at eye level. “It’s not the best costume-”

“You live down the street?” asked Mini Gipsy Danger. She seemed disappointed.

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “But maybe don’t go putting that on the Internet, or whatever it is that you kids do,” he said. She considered this, then nodded.

“You’re kind of weird,” she said. “Do you want some pumpkin seeds?”

“Sure,” Raleigh said, because what else was there to do in this situation? He saw Mako turn and something deeply sad cross her face, but then she nodded her head him.

Raleigh ate pumpkin seeds and chatted with another neighbor about his new house - apparently all their kids and dogs played together and they’d all been speculating who lived there. “Bridget finally took the initiative,” he said. “I won twenty bucks. Good place to hide out.”

“Thanks,” Raleigh said.

He went in search of Herc and found him seated in a chair with two children, dressed as witches, carefully painting his face. They’d given him a little tiger nose and whiskers over his own and were adding some tiger stripes. Raleigh leaned against the wall and smiled, but also - he was so good with kids, it was obvious in the way he was easily smiling at them and making growly tiger sounds. He hadn’t been a shit father, Raleigh thought. It was just the circumstances.

Raleigh thought, for a moment - let himself catch a wisp of an idea, at least, and he smiled slightly. Then he approached Herc. “You look good,” he said.

“Said I needed to be a proper tiger,” he replied, as one of the witches finished her handiwork. “Glad you approve.”

The witches giggled and then, looking at the two of them, decided to wander off and find their next victim. Raleigh almost pointed them in the direction of Mako, then thought better of it. She was still talking to Charlotte, perhaps arranging some running date.

Herc made fake claws with his fingers at Raleigh and smiled at him. Raleigh glanced around and then kissed Herc, nuzzled his nose into Herc’s. He sighed. When Raleigh pulled away he did not doubt that he had some face paint on his nose. Herc licked his thumb and then wiped it away, and Raleigh grinned.

“I definitely need some more cider,” Herc said, but he was still experiencing the afterglow from the girls. _It would have to be girls,_ Raleigh thought, and then shook his head. He was being silly - he always did this, in the early stages of a relationship. It had been, what, a week and a half?

Herc just smiled at him and shook his head.

* * *

As Herc washed his face, Raleigh slipped out of his clothes. He debated keeping his boxer briefs on, decided it might be kind of hot, and then grabbed the lube from the bedside table. He reached down and touched himself - first just around the tip, then pushing down a little further, manipulating the foreskin. He groaned - he thought of Herc’s cock inside him, or him inside Herc. He wasn’t fussy, and they hadn’t, yet, but-

“Oh, fuck, Raleigh,” Herc said. He stopped in the bathroom door in his own boxer briefs. “Christ.”

Raleigh turned and smiled at him. “I’m thinking about you,” he said. He pulled his briefs down with his other hand to pull his cock out a little bit.

Herc moaned and shook his head, then got into the bed. Raleigh’s briefs weren’t on him for long and Herc kissed him, hard and eager. “Keep touching yourself,” he said, sort of growled, and Raleigh nodded as he kissed down his neck and nipped at it. “Tell me-”

“I want to fuck,” Raleigh said. One and a half weeks was taking it slow, right? Besides, time was different when you spent the days spending most of your day with someone. It felt like so much longer.

“Yeah?” Herc asked. His lips slid down Raleigh’s neck and then Herc worked his tongue around Raleigh’s nipple. A finger traced one of his scars. Herc had some of his own, from Lucky Seven, on his left arm and left side. “How do you want to fuck, Raleigh?”

“I want...don’t care, I-” Raleigh met Herc’s eyes as his hand joined his own and Herc jacked him roughly. Raleigh hitched his hips into it.

Herc closed his eyes for a moment. Raleigh watched his eyelashes flutter against his cheeks. “I’d like...you inside me,” he said. Raleigh felt his cock twitch in Herc’s hand and he opened his eyes and grinned. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Raleigh said and found himself nodding his head, quickly. He leaned over and kissed Herc, his mouth open, eager, demanding a little bit from Herc - but Raleigh knew who was still in charge and he groaned when Herc took one of his hands and put it on his cock. “Yeah,” Raleigh said. He ground his hand into Herc, then pulled his briefs off. “Fuck, you look so good,” Raleigh said.

He ran his fingers through the soft curls around his dick, only slightly darker than Herc’s hair, and then leaned down and kissed at Herc’s chest as he ran his finger up and down Herc’s cock. The head was leaking and he used it to draw around the tip. Herc groaned, this lovely deep open sound and Raleigh pinched his nipple to draw the groan deeper. He grinned at at Herc, then moved down, took his cock in his mouth. “You just love that, don’t you?” Herc asked. “Sucking my cock?”

Raleigh startled - the tone, there, was different than their normal banter and god, he liked it. He moaned around Herc’s cock to show his assent and then took Herc’s cock deep and to the hilt. Herc’s hands were in his hair, guiding him, and Raleigh sank into it and let Herc control the rhythm. He cupped Herc’s balls, traced his thumb back until he found the hole. Then he pulled back, and Herc’s hands lightened in touch, and Raleigh licked around the tip and just sucked it. “Yeah, Raleigh, let’s-”

Raleigh moved back and took his time, moved his fingers carefully and quickly sought out Herc’s prostate. Herc squirmed and Raleigh grinned and slipped two fingers into Herc. “Yeah, Raleigh, fuck-” Herc said, and he moved against Raleigh’s fingers. Raleigh blushed - he wasn’t quite used to this, while he was more than happy to switch, he often found himself bottoming.

“Look at you,” Herc said, and Raleigh twisted his body around to lean in and kiss Herc hard on the lips. He spread three fingers wide in Herc and he was eager, Raleigh could feel it, and goddamnit, he was not going to-

Herc used his leg and turned Raleigh over. He used his arms to guide Raleigh on his back and Raleigh opened his mouth and licked his lips. “Oh, good, I like-”

“Yeah?” Herc asked, and there was...cocky, it was the only word, really, this cocky grin on his face as he straddled Raleigh.

He slid over him, teased Raleigh’s cock into his crease. The initial press overwhelmed Raleigh - they were together, joined. He gasped and Herc’s grin widened. Raleigh arched his hips, pressed in, and Herc slid down onto him easily and then stopped. He ran a hand through Raleigh’s hair and his smile softened as he looked at him. “Gorgeous,” he said.

They moved together like they had been doing this for some time. Herc moved forward and Raleigh rolled his hips. Herc was tight, enveloped Raleigh’s cock deep inside him, hot and ready. Herc leaned forward and moaned. “There,” he said.

“OK,” Raleigh replied, and he put his hands on Herc’s hips to hold him and move him slower. Herc was...Raleigh was going to come, he could feel his balls pulling tight and that tight, wound feeling in his cock. He wanted this to be good.

“Yeah?” Herc said. “You like my ass that much?”

“Oh, fuuuck,” Raleigh said. He thrust hard into Herc, but Herc obliged him and slowed their rhythm. Raleigh met Herc’s eyes and smiled. Herc cupped the side of his jaw and - the smile was a little sad, maybe melancholy, but there was this bright happiness to it as well and Raleigh understood. It was never going to go away, but this was...they would do what they could.

Then Herc quickened his pace and grasped Raleigh’s wrist and put it over his cock. “Now, Raleigh, fuck, your cock feels amazing…”

“Fuuuck,” Raleigh said again. He couldn’t think that much, he needed to come so bad, he was wound so fucking tight - he felt a little bit like a teenager, but...he did not care, and thrust hard into Herc. Then Herc clenched around him as he pressed deep into him and Raleigh came hard into Herc.

Herc bit at his lower lip and settled down on Raleigh. It took him a moment to come back from the height of his orgasm but he moved his hand over Herc’s cock, light and focusing on the tip. Then Herc came in his hand and Raleigh issued a deep, huge sigh, because, yeah, he had done that.

Herc slid out of them, then, and curled next to Raleigh.

Raleigh would never have taken Herc Hansen for a cuddler.

“Thank you,” Herc said. More whispered, and then he turned Raleigh’s head and kissed him hard.

“You did all the work,” Raleigh said, but then he met Herc’s eyes and understood. He ducked his head, smiled, nuzzled into Herc’s neck and kissed him there. Herc stroked his hair until he was close to being asleep, then groaned and rolled from the bed.

“Need to clean up,” he said.

“Mrmph,” Raleigh replied, but once Herc was done he curled into him again. Herc resumed stroking his hair, and Raleigh let himself fall asleep this time.

* * *

Raleigh bound down the steps two days later, hair still wet from the shower he took after a session downstairs on the ergometer. “Oh, hello,” he said. Mako was in the kitchen with Charlotte, both in their running clothes and making tea.

“Tea, Raleigh?” Mako asked. He nodded his head and went into the cupboard to try and find something for them to eat - what did you eat with tea? Biscuits, right? But Mako was making green tea, which was probably a bit different- “I have some things set out,” Mako interrupted.

“Oh, right,” Raleigh said. He turned when he sensed Herc leaning against the door jamb, also fresh from the shower. Charlotte glanced at the two of them and then nodded her head and smiled slightly.

“Good run?” Herc asked.

“We could walk the path,” Mako said. “It goes down to the gorge. Max might like it.”

“Max tolerates walks,” Herc said, and he picked up some kind of cookie Mako had found in the international section of the grocery store - she had actually made a squeaking noise, the first time they came upon it, and she found a variety of products from Japan, China, other places she had lived.

“He’s lovely,” said Charlotte, and scratched him behind the ears and then behind the neck. Raleigh smiled, and then looked at Max.

He looked, for a moment - Raleigh wasn’t really sure, but maybe there was more to dogs. Maybe they were just playing dumb most of the time. Max seemed to be telling him thank you, and also telling him not to fuck it up. Raleigh grinned at him. He didn’t intend to.


End file.
